George Koval was a smart, likable guy, an Army veteran and a City College student. He was also a Soviet spy who gained broad
access to U.S. atomic secrets, including those of the Manhattan Project. Although American intelligence agencies have
long known of Koval’s activities, his identity only became
public knowledge after his death last year. On November 2nd, Russian President Vladimir
Putin posthumously awarded Dr. Koval a Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet
Union.

As the Cold War waned in the 1980s, the spy movie genre
sputtered, and international thrillers became stocked with villainous
megalomaniacs, drug dealers and religious fanatics rather than the lethal
agents of shadowy foreign governments. But new enemies have emerged and new additions to the
cinematic spy world cannot be far behind.

After the jump, vote for the best espionage film. And for a more down-home version of spying,
check out Rear Window on AMC tomorrow
night.